Baroness Thatcher was today honoured with a sombre but spectacular funeral ceremony that paid tribute to the ‘courage and perseverance’ of Britain's greatest peacetime prime minister.

The Iron Lady's daughter Carol wept as
she said a final goodbye to her mother, and was comforted by her twin
brother Sir Mark and his wife Sarah as they arrived for the private service at Mortlake Crematorium.

Earlier, under the great dome of St Paul's Cathedral, the Queen joined dignitaries from 170 countries worldwide, friends, political foes and Lady Thatcher's closest family members to celebrate the life of the UK's first and only female premier.

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Emotional: A tearful Carol Thatcher is consoled by her brother Sir Mark and his wife Sarah, as they arrive at Mortlake Crematorium to say goodbye to Baroness Thatcher

Grief: Sarah Thatcher (left) and Amanda Thatcher. They attended the private service for close family and friends

Final journey: The hearse carrying the coffin of Baroness Thatcher arrives at Mortlake Crematorium in Richmond, south London. Her ashes were buried alongside those of her husband Denis, who died in 2003

London's streets were also packed with mourners who broke into spontaneous applause and gave cheers and whistles of support as the coffin passed by.

The emotional crowds threw white roses in the path of the gun carriage that carried Lady Thatcher through the capital, while many of the 2,300 inside St Paul's openly sobbed with Chancellor George Osborne 'overwhelmed'.

Outside on the streets, the predicted protests and disorder failed to materialise, with the few boos drowned out by supporters' applause.

As Big Ben once again started to chime after the 11am service, the procession started its final journey. At exactly 4.30pm, the coffin bearing grocer’s daughter Margaret Hilda Roberts, who rose to become Baroness Thatcher of Kesteven, arrived at Mortlake crematorium. Her ashes are due to be interred at the Royal Hospital Chelsea next to those of her beloved husband Denis, who died in 2003.

Sarah Thatcher, right, consoles her sister-in-law Carol at Mortlake Crematorium as they arrive for the private service

Loss: Mark Thatcher, his wife and two children grieve at the cemetery earlier today

Final leg of her journey: The hearse carrying Lady Thatcher's coffin arrives at Mortlake Crematorium in Richmond, London, after her funeral service at St Paul's Cathedral

Moving: The hearse arrived from the Royal Hospital Chelsea, where Lady Thatcher's late husband Sir Denis is buried. She was interred next to him after the cremation

High security: The hearse is escorted to the crematorium by police outriders after the coffin was loaded into the vehicle by five pallbearers

Leaving the cathedral: Baroness Thatcher's coffin is carried down the steps of St Paul's by the bearer party before being taken to a private cremation ceremony

Patriot: The flag-draped coffin arrives the funeral service of Baroness Thatcher

Controversial: The Bishop of London raised eyebrows with his address, referring to the Tolpuddle Martyrs
and how Lady Thatcher was just an 'ordinary' woman in a series of barbed
comments, while Prime Minister David Cameron gave a reading during the service

Address: The Right Reverend Richard Chartres said: 'After the storm of a life led in the heat of political controversy, there is a great calm. The storm of conflicting opinions centres on the Mrs Thatcher who became a symbolic figure - even an ism'

Poignant: A tri-service bearer party, drawn from ships, squadrons and regiments associated with the Falklands, take the coffin on their shoulders as the gun carriage draws away

Procession: The Union flag-draped coffin bearing the body of Lady Thatcher is carried on a gun carriage drawn by the King's Troop Royal Artillery on the way to St Paul's

The
Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh attendance the St Paul's
service broke with Royal protocol, as it was the Monarch's first political funeral since Sir Winston
Churchill's in 1965.

Her Majesty joined Lady Thatcher's family on the steps to watch a hearse take the
former premier's body away from the grandeur and solemnity of the
official funeral to a private cremation at Mortlake in south-west
London.

The funeral cortege arrived at 4.30pm while dozens
of onlookers lined the street and applauded as the coffin entered
through the crematorium gates, which were guarded by two police
officers.

Another two police officers saluted as the hearse went into the grounds, followed by two Jaguar cars and a Range Rover.

Two coaches carrying guests had arrived at the crematorium half an hour earlier.

But it was the Bishop of London raised
eyebrows with his address, referring to the Tolpuddle Martyrs and how
Lady Thatcher was just an ordinary woman.

The Right Reverend Richard Chartres said:
'After the storm of a life led in the heat of political
controversy, there is a great calm. The storm of conflicting opinions
centres on the Mrs Thatcher who became a symbolic figure - even an ism.

'Today the remains of the real Margaret Hilda Thatcher are here at her funeral service.

'Her
upbringing was in the Methodism to which this country owes a huge debt.
When it was time to challenge the political and economic status quo in
nineteenth century Britain, it was so often the Methodists who took the
lead. The Tolpuddle Martyrs, for example, were led not by proto-Marxists
but by Methodist lay preachers.'

The Tolpuddle Martyrs were a group of six agricultural labourers from the village of Tolpuddle who founded the very first trade union movement in protest at the lowering of their wages. They were convicted of contravening the obscure law of swearing a secret oath and transported to Australia for seven years.

holding
cushions bearing the insignia of the Order of the Garter and the Order
of Merit, which they then placed on the Dome Altar as the coffin arrived.

Margaret Thatcher's only
granddaughter also paid a heartfelt tribute to the former Prime Minister with
a perfectly-delivered reading.

Speaking with a pronounced American accent, Amanda Thatcher, 19, read from the book of Ephesians to mourners.

The teenager showed how she takes
after her grandmother as she spoke with self-assurance and confidence
during the service in front of the Queen, former Prime Ministers and
foreign dignitaries

Amanda's reading called for the
righteous to put 'on the whole armour of God that ye may be able to
stand against the wiles of the devil'.

The Prime Minister told the congregation in his tribute: 'In the end, the
breaking of the mould, the difficult decisions (Lady Thatcher made), led to less division,
less strife at the end of it.'

David Cameron said: 'Lady Thatcher was a much more subtle politician than
people often gave her credit for, and did not rush into confrontations.

'One of the things about her legacy is some of those big arguments that she had everyone now accepts,' he said.

'No
one wants to go back to trade unions that are undemocratic or one-sided
nuclear disarmament, or having great private businesses in the public
sector.'

Mr Cameron,
who was 12 when Lady Thatcher came to power in 1979, said her influence
was partly responsible for him joining the Conservatives.

He
said his aim was to take the 'resolution' Lady Thatcher brought to
economic problems and apply it to Britain’s social problems.

Former Cabinet member during the
Thatcher years, Sir Malcolm Rifkind, said the funeral had been 'in every
respect perfect for the occasion'.

'You can’t mourn too much when someone is 87, has had an extraordinary life and has achieved so much,' he said.

'Lady Thatcher wrote much of the
service herself and who knows, perhaps she was enjoying it from
somewhere else as we listened to the music and listened to what was
being said.'

Former chief policy adviser to Baroness Thatcher, John Redwood, fought back tears when he said:
'The most moving moment inside the cathedral was when they opened up the
great doors and we could hear the noise outside.

'It was exactly the kind of tribute
you would hope for - we are grieving a loss but also commemorating a
life well-led, an extraordinarily active life.'

Choral: David Cameron, George Osborne, the Duke of Edinburgh and The Queen sign a hymn during the service

Rousing tune: Baroness Thatcher is believed to have begun making arrangements eight years ago for the service, which featured the hymn I Vow to Thee, My Country

Ready for the service: The congregation, which comprises friends, family and dignitaries from around the world, talk among themselves

Sombre, but spectacular: More than 2,000 guests
attended the service, including 50 associated with the Falklands, 11
serving prime ministers and two heads of state

Divided opinion, but was respected: A long list of celebrities, old friends and foes joined royalty and world leaders past and present to pay their last respects to Britain's greatest peacetime prime minister

Dignitaries queued as the doors to St
Paul's opened.
Former prime ministers Tony Blair and Sir John Major arrived together,
before David Cameron arrived with his wife Samantha.

The guest list included all 32 members of the current British Cabinet and 30 former members of Lady Thatcher's Cabinets from her premiership from 1979 to 1990.

International guests included 11 serving Prime Ministers from across the globe and 17 serving Foreign Ministers. In total 170 countries were represented.

Family: Lady Thatcher's grandchildren, Amanda
and Michael (left), wait for their grandmother's coffin to arrive at St
Paul's as her son, Mark and his wife Sarah enter

Sad: The Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh look on as the bearer party, dressed in their regimental or service uniform, bring the coffin into the cathedral

The bearer party was carefully selected according to their height and were made up of the Royal Navy/Marines, Scots Guards, Welsh Guards, Royal Artillery, Royal Engineers, Parachute Regiment, Royal Gurkha Rifles and RAF

Solemn: Members of the armed forces carry Baroness Thatcher into St Paul's for her funeral service

Nearing her final journey: The Union Flag-draped coffin of Lady Thatcher just after it arrives outside St Paul's on a horse-drawn gun carriage

Significant role: The Bearer Party made up of personnel from the three branches of the military stand alongside the coffin

Armed guard: Sailors march during the Ceremonial funeral of former British Prime Minister Baroness Thatcher at Dean's Court

Military honours: The coffin was carried on one
of six First World War-era gun carriages of the Kings Troop Royal Horse
Artillery, used routinely for gun salutes, most recently to mark the
61st anniversary of the Queen's accession to the throne

Leading figures: The officer in command of the bearing party was Major Nicholas Mott of the Welsh Guards, while the chief marshal, who will walk behind the procession band, is Falklands veteran Colonel Hugh Bodington

Armed police stand guard over the crowds as the funeral procession, led by a marching band, makes its way through central London

Last journey: The funeral procession for Baroness Thatcher passes along Ludgate Hill

Showing their respects in different ways: Pockets of onlookers applauded as the hearse travelled up Whitehall, past Downing Street, while others fell silent

The event was dominated by the Britain's military, as the Iron Lady was given a 'war leader's' ceremonial funeral. Thousands of troops took part, many of whom had strong links to the 1982 Falklands War, arguably Mrs Thatcher's greatest moment in office.

Falklands veteran and former Welsh Guard Simon Weston said the funeral
had been 'special and I felt honoured and privileged to have been
there'.

'It was great that the services had an involvement particularly because
we had such a big role in her career,' he told reporters.

'She was always really good with the guys.

'The Falklands will always be one of the biggest parts of her legacy.'

Mr Weston said Baroness Thatcher 'showed every woman in the world you don’t have to come from great beginnings'.

And he dubbed protests against the former prime minister as 'pathetic'.

MP Ken Clarke also took a swipe at the 'childish' protests, dismissing those celebrating her death as 'adolescents making silly points'.

He said it was 'entirely suitable' that such a high-profile funeral should be held to send off a 'huge national personality'.

'I thought the arguments about the funeral were childish quite frankly,' he said.

'As were some of the supposed celebrations of her death - they were rather tasteless, adolescents making silly points.'

Sombre occasion: Lady Thatcher's son, Mark, comforts his twin sister Carol as they make their way into the cathedral

State occasion: The Queen, who has only ever been to the funeral of one Prime Minister, that of Winston Churchill's in 1965, arrives at St Paul's

Paying respect: Former Prime Ministers John Major (C) and Tony Blair with their wives Norma Major and Cherie Blair (L) arrive at St Paul's Cathedral

Remembering a fellow PM: Current Prime Minister
David Cameron and his wife Samantha arrive dressed in black for the
funeral service

Political representatives: Prime Minister David
Cameron takes his seat as Speaker of the House of Commons John Bercow
arrives to pay his respects at the service

Attendees: British opera singer Katherine
Jenkins and London Mayor Boris Johnson are also among the guests for the
funeral service

Guests: The Duchess of York and army veteran
Simon Weston, who suffered horrific injuries during the Falklands War,
arrive at St Paul's to pay their respects

Relaxed atmosphere: Sarah Ferguson has a laugh
and a joke as she takes her seat inside the cathedral ahead of the
funeral service

Political heavyweights: Chancellor George
Osborne and Business Secretary Vince Cable make their way into the
cathedral ahead of the service

Taking their position: Former Labour Prime Minister Gordon Brown, former
U.S. Secretary of State Henry Kissinger and Minister without portfolio
Ken Clarke

Admirers: Margaret Thatcher's longest-serving
cabinet minister Geoffrey Howe (left) and Michael Portillo who served as
a junior minister under the late PM

Processing in: The service, conducted by the Bishop of London, the Right Rev Richard Chartres, a long-standing friend of Lady Thatcher, will reflect her public love of her country and her private literary tastes

After the service Baroness Thatcher’s children Sir Mark
and Carol Thatcher went to the Lord Mayor’s official residence
in the city of London for a reception.

The pair were joined by Lady Thatcher’s grandchildren Michael and Amanda
and a host of visiting dignitaries at Mansion House, a stone’s throw
away from where thousands had lined the streets to say goodbye to the
former prime minister at St Paul’s Cathedral.

Prime Minister David Cameron and his wife Samantha also attended the
reception with coalition partner and Deputy Prime Minister Nick Clegg
and his wife Miriam.

Security around Mansion House was exceptionally tight with other guests
including a range of current international leaders, former Prime
Minister John Major, opposition leader Ed Miliband as well as members of
the cabinet and members of Lady Thatcher’s cabinet.

Up to 1,600 family members, friends and dignitaries came to fill
the medieval landmark’s Great Hall, Old Library and Crypt following the
ceremonial funeral.

Honour: The casket was mounted onto the gun carriage to be transported from St Clements to the cathedral

Cortege: The carriage was pulled with a horse down the Strand and Fleet Street towards St Paul's

Off with a bang: As the Lady Thatcher's coffin leaves St Clements Danes Church on route to St Paul's Cathedral, the Honorable Artillery Company fire Processional Minute Guns in front of Tower Bridge

Rammed: Some onlookers had been waiting in Fleet Street for hours to welcome the funeral cortege

En route: The gun carriage on its journey from the church to the cathedral for the ceremony

Cheering: Despite fears of disruptions, most of those in attendance reacted joyfully to the appearance of the cortege

March: A military band walks past, heralding the arrival of Lady Thatcher's coffin at St Paul's

Band: Drummers, trombone players and trumpeters marched through London in ceremonial dress

Prayers: The scene inside St Clement Danes, where prayers were said over Lady Thatcher's body

Commemoration: The short service on the Strand took place around half an hour before the funeral itself

Many of those who gathered on the pavements had been camping out overnight to get the best view, and were dressed in sombre colours for the occasion.

Before
being transferred to the gun carriage that would take her to St Paul's,
prayers were said by St Clement Danes resident chaplain the Rev David
Osborn. Her coffin was then taken by six black horses slowly, led by a
brass band, to St Paul's.

As a mark of respect all Union flags and the national flags of the UK were lowered to half-mast at buildings she passed.

Sarah, Duchess of York, was among the
first to arrive. The former wife of the Duke of York, wearing a black
dress and matching hat, arrived shortly after the cathedral doors
opened. Broadcaster Sir Terry Wogan was also among the first mourners.

Roots: People of Grantham in Lincolnshire, where Lady Thatcher grew up, gather at the town's museum to her funeral on a projector screen

Overcome with emotion: A member of public reacts as the coffin containing late former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher is taken from St Clement Danes church

Clamber to see: Lady Thatcher, who died last week, was the first British female Prime Minister and served from 1979 to 1990

Emotional occasion: Gloria Martin wipes away
tears while another fan holds an 'I Love Maggie' T-shirt as they join
the crowds on the procession route

First to arrive: Spectators gather by St Paul's Cathedral along the route of today's funeral procession. Many had arrived by 6.30am

BRITONS SPLIT ON LADY THATCHER

An Ipsos Mori poll released today
suggests Britons are still fairly evenly split about Lady Thatcher's
legacy, with 47 per cent saying her time in office was good for the
country, and 42 per cent believing the opposite.

Some 51 per cent disagreed with the
statement 'I wish more politicians today were like Margaret Thatcher',
while 39 per cent agreed.

Just under a third (29 per cent) of
those surveyed said Mr Cameron would be a better Prime Minister if he
were more like Lady Thatcher, compared to 23 per cent who thought it
would make him worse.

Lady Thatcher was rated as the
premier who would do the best job at getting Britain out of economic
crisis, with 31 per cent backing her above Tony Blair on 21 per cent.

Mr Cameron trailed in fourth with 12 per cent support - behind Labour predecessor Gordon Brown on 13 per cent.

:: Ipsos Mori interviewed 1,010
adults across Great Britain by telephone between April 13 and 15. Data
were weighted to match the profile of the population.

Just after 10.05am her coffin, draped
in the Union flag and topped with a large white bouquet, was gently
eased on to the shoulders of four pallbearers and carried in to the
church.

St Clement Danes
church, the RAF chapel on The Strand, is where the coffin was carefully
transferred to a gun carriage and borne in procession to St Paul’s
Cathedral for the funeral service.

Statues
of Air Marshal Sir Arthur Harris, commander-in-chief of RAF Bomber
Command from 1942 to 1945, and Air Chief Marshal Lord Dowding who led
Fighter Command from 1936 to 1940, stood proud and protectively as the
hearse arrived.

The gentle clapping was in stark
contrast to the sound of loud church bells which had pealed out from
9.45am ahead of her arrival.

It was the first activity of the
funeral procession for the crowds who also saw lines of military
personnel march by in precision waves.

With the coffin now out of view, the crowds stood in silence except for the sound of a military band playing in the background.

Then the words 'Oh beautiful' could be heard as the pristine gun carriage pulled in at 10.19am.

There was silence as the crowds, pinned back by barriers, waited patiently for another glimpse of the coffin.

The
loud church bells signalled movement at just before 10.30am and
hundreds of cameras which were being held by members of the public to
try to catch a personal memento of the historic event.

A
tri-service party of pallbearers of 10 personnel, led by an Officer and
Garrison Sergeant Major of the Welsh Guards, then carried the coffin
out of the church and placed it on a gun carriage of the King’s Troop
Royal Horse Artillery.

Lady Thatcher was now re-united with the Falklands units and military personnel who would escort her to St Paul’s Cathedral.

Then the applause came once again from the onlookers - only this time it was louder than before and came in a boom rather than a ripple.

The crowds had slowly grown after the morning rush hour from the odd commuter passing by to include well-wishers, tourists and some people who were not fans of the former prime minister.

Two St George’s flags flew at half-mast from either side of the church, which was closely guarded by pairs of uniformed police wearing white gloves at every entrance.

Emotional scenes: Lady Thatcher's body driven past the Houses of Parliament, where she served for more than five decades

Protection: Police riders accompany the hearse away from the Palace of Westminster on the way to St Clement Danes

Seat of power: The hearse passing Downing Street, where Lady Thatcher lived for her 11 years as Prime Minister

Tribute: Police inside Downing Street watch the hearse drive past

Procession: Undertakers take Lady Thatcher's coffin out of the chapel of St Mary Undercroft in the Palace of Westminster

Back in Parliament: Baroness Thatcher's coffin resting in the Chapel of St Mary Undercroft beneath the Palace of Westminster

John Loughrey, who was dressed head-to-toe in Union Jack clothing,
arrived at St Paul's yesterday morning.

'I came in respect of Lady Thatcher,' the 58-year-old said.

'She came to power in a man's world and she won. Everything she fought for, she won.

'She was a great politician. We were living in the dark and she brought
us back to the light. She put the 'great' back in Great Britain.'

In Whitehall, opposite Downing Street, housewife Wafa Alsamarrai, 59, said: 'Mrs Thatcher was a great lady. She did a lot of good things for the country.'

Standing in the rain with Mrs Alsamarrai was grandmother Maria Ruotolo, 78, from Fulham, who said she had 'nothing but good memories' of Lady Thatcher.

Next to her was Jane Moss, 66, also from Fulham. She said: 'Mrs Thatcher was a real lady. I met her once and she was so nice and kind to my daughter Lucy who was just seven at the time.'

American Robert Cunningham, 29, diverted his holiday in Norway to make it to the funeral.

He said: 'She was a foreign prime minister, regardless of the good, bad or otherwise.

'She did a lot for our country, a lot for the relationship between the UK and the USA.

'She was a powerful lady, she stood by what she believed, even if it was not popular.'

Richard Sibley, 63, of Chigwell, Essex, said he was pleased not to see any protesters outside St Paul’s ahead of the funeral.

He said: 'She deserves it, she deserves every respect of this occasion.

'There are always people who want to write things down but she put the 'Great' back in Britain.

'Although people in mining communities say she destroyed them, it was the democratic right of the people of this country.'

170 -
countries were represented by foreign dignitaries (including members
of royal families; serving presidents, prime ministers and foreign
ministers; former PMs and presidents and heads of missions).

11 - Overseas Territories represented.

Eight horses from the King’s Troop Royal Horse Artillery in the procession - led by 'Mister Twister'

4,000 - Officersthe Metropolitan Police on duty.

6,650 - online condolences have been received via the No 10 website.

36,300
views of photos on Flickr released by Downing Street of items related
to Baroness Thatcher and pictures from her time as Prime Minister.

1.2million views to the Prime Minister's Facebook content following the death of Lady Thatcher.